1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly relates to an electrical connector having a conductive shield positively latched to an insulative housing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical connectors having an insulative housing for supporting a plurality of contacts and a conductive shield surrounding the housing are currently being used on all universal serial bus (USB) connector receptacles. However, manufacturers of these receptacles have encountered difficulty in positively latching the conductive shield to the insulative housing.
For example, one currently available USB receptacle includes an insulative housing substantially surrounded by a conductive shield. The conductive shield consists of two separate pieces which are latched together to form the outer shield. This connector receptacle construction suffers from the shield lifting off the housing during interconnection and disconnection with a mating plug and poor shield electrical continuity.
Likewise, another currently available USB receptacle suffers similar disadvantages. The shield and housing are easily separated and the shield tends to lift off the housing during interconnection and disconnection with a mating plug. Movement between the shield and housing also causes alignment problems with respect to the contacts supported by the housing and the conductive shield.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to design an electrical connector assembly including an insulative housing and a conductive shield substantially surrounding the housing which is positively locked to the housing. Thus, separation and misalignment of the housing and shield could be avoided.